


New Year, New Gamble

by Squarepeg72



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, New Year's Eve, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28449972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squarepeg72/pseuds/Squarepeg72
Summary: Adrian Pucey is tired of waiting for what he wants. Will a gamble at a New Year’s Eve party pay off or cost him everything?
Relationships: Adrian Pucey/Oliver Wood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Let the New Year Slither In





	New Year, New Gamble

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Let The New Year Slyther In 2020 for Draco's Den
> 
> Character: Adrian Pucey  
> Theme: Risk
> 
> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/148170750@N07/50784287227/in/dateposted-public/)

Adrian looked around at the crowd that filled the Three Broomsticks. He usually didn’t come to celebrations like this, but he had heard that Oliver would be there. He and Oliver had been dancing around each other for years and he had decided that he was done dancing.

It was New Year’s Eve after all and he had made resolutions…

* * *

Oliver was in a foul mood. It was New Year’s Eve and he was at the Three Broomsticks instead of at home. He usually didn’t mind the party but he was tired. He just wanted to burrow into the cushions on his sofa and watch the fire flicker as another year ended. If his teammates had not insisted that he join them, he would still be at home. He would stay until midnight and then he was going home.

It was New Years Eve after all and he had quidditch plans to make…

* * *

Adrian finally found what he was looking for. A flash of mahogany hair in the crowd had to be Oliver. Adrian had never met anyone with hair like his. Now all he had to do was make his way through the crush and talk to Oliver. Not a challenge at all.

Adrian picked up his pint and looked back to where he had seen Oliver. But, Oliver was gone. “Bloody hell, this is not how I wanted to spend my evening…”

* * *

Oliver finally found a quiet corner in the shadows of the edges of the main room of the pub. He had decided that there were too many people for him to actually enjoy the evening, but he had made a promise to his teammates and he had nothing better to do. Quidditch games were a challenge. Hiding in the back corner of a pub, not so much.

Oliver took a sip of his pint and looked across the crush. A flash of dark hair and dark eyes made him sit forward in his booth. “Sprèadhadh e! What is he doing here …”

* * *

An explosion of Scots Gaelic curses from the booth at the back corner of the room caught Adrian’s attention. He knew very few people who could curse that colorfully in another language. He had lost track of Oliver after he had turned back to the bar to get his pint, so the string of curses was a clue in his hunt. Oliver was in the same pub as he was. Now all he had to do was find him and talk to him.

“Nothing to it,” Adrian grumbled and her let his eyes search the shadows. “All I have to do is find a bloody Scotsman who is acting like he doesn’t want to be found …”

* * *

It should be hard for a shadow to cast itself in the dark. BUt, somehow, that’s what caught Oliver’s attention. The shadow of another person falling across his table should not have been there. Who in their right mind would be approaching his table when he was in such a foul mood? Oliver looked up to see who was bothering his solitude.

“If I had wanted company, I would not be in this corner.” Oliver growled at the man standing by his table. “What the bloody hell do you want?”

* * *

Adrian stared at the man hidden in the shadows. It was not like the man he knew to be this rumpled and gruff. Oliver looked like he hadn’t even bothered to shave before he had come to the Three Broomsticks. Running fingered through his hair, Adrian considered his answer to Oliver’s question.

“It’s New Year’s Eve.” Adrian shrugged and set two pints on the table. “Where else would I be?”

* * *

Oliver could not believe who was standing by his table. Adrian Pucey had haunted his dreams since they were students. He was off limits at school because of their houses and he was off limits now because of their occupations. There was not way he was going to become fodder for the Daily Prophet when his quidditch career was finally starting to move in the right direction.

“At home, with your cats.” Oliver shrugged and picked up one of the pints that Adrian had set on the table. “It is not a good idea for a solicitor to be seen with a quidditch player. Even in the shadows of a pub.”

* * *

Adrian picked up the pint that remained on the table and took a sip. He had a choice to make. He could hide behind his family and career or he could grab for what he wanted. If told Oliver why he was really here, he could lose everything he had been building. His family would probably disown him as soon as the relationship he wanted hit the front pages of the Daily Prophet. If he lied, he would keep what he had been building but he would lose what he wanted more than what he had built.

“I don’t have cats.” Adrian lifted his pint in a small salute. “I came to celebrate the start of a new year. Care to join me in a toast?”

* * *

Oliver watched the lights in the pub flicker off of Adrian’s hair. The answer he had given made sense, but it had not been the answer that Oliver had expected. Oliver wasn’t sure what Adrian was up to. The way Adrian was staring at him made Oliver think that Adrian had more than a toast for the new year that he wanted to offer. Oliver gestured to the bench on the other side of the table as he took another sip from his pint.

“Depends on what you want to toast.” Oliver lifted his chin as he set his pint back on the table. “There’s a seat. Take it and tell me what you want.”

* * *

Adrian looked at the watch on his wrist before he sat at the table with Oliver. He had ten minutes to come up with a good reason for Oliver to take a chance on something he could feel that both of them wanted. They had been fighting the tension between them for years. All he had to do was ask for a simple gesture at midnight.

“Just how brave are you, Oliver?” Adrian stood back up and moved to sit beside Oliver. “Because what I’m asking could make or burn both of us.”

Oliver looked across the pub to the enchanted ball hanging from the ceiling. He only had to stay in the pub until the ball fell to keep his promise to his teammates. He was startled out of his thoughts by the feel of Adrian’s thigh against his and Adrian’s hand against his face.

“Oliver, look at me.” Adrian’s whisper sounded louder than the laughter that filled to pub. “Have you gotten tired of fighting the pull between us?”

Oliver closed his eyes and let his head fall forward. “What exactly do you want, Pucey? I canna play this game with you. Out with it.”

“A kiss at midnight?” Adrian whispered against Oliver’s cheek. “A chance at something more than watching each other from a distance.”

“It could cost us more than it is worth.” Oliver’s whisper barely reached Adrian’s ears. “Are you sure you can handle the storm that will come with that request.”

“I’d rather get burned than live a lie.” Adrian put a finger under Oliver’s chain and tilted his chin so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “I’m tired of living the lie. What about you?’

“I’ve stayed away because I dinna wanna get burned.” Oliver shivered as he continued to stare at Adrian. “Are you ready for a firestorm. That is the only thing that can come of your question.”

“You have two minutes to make up your mind.” Adrian moved his face closer to Oliver’s. “Why not start of a new year with a little bit of a gamble?”

Oliver watched the lights of the ball reflect in Adrain’s eyes as it started to fall to the floor.

Adrian felt sparks fill his body as sparks filled the air. Oliver Wood kissed him as the strains of Auld Lang Syne filled the Three Broomsticks, glad he had gambled on his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation -
> 
> Sprèadhadh e! - Blast it (Scots Gaelic)


End file.
